One More Assignment
by tofuGal
Summary: It started as a simple task of delivering documents.. And Tashigi didn't bargain for it to go hellishly wrong. Smoker is persistently hindered in rescuing her.. This is a story of sacrifice and trust. [some vio,lang][lotsa action] [chp II up]
1. Missing the Wash

**Disclaimer : One Piece characters don't belong to me.  
**I hope you enjoy the following (uncompleted)fanfic brought to you by kat.chan, the tofuGal.

* * *

_"Just this one more assignment, then you can head back free."_

"Right. Sure. You know what? Every mission should have a _you-can't-refuse-this-one-more-job-Tashigi!_ whenever I plan to hit the showers. And when I miss my wash-slot, it's okay! Yeah, I can live with wetting just my butt."

_".. So now it's about your posterior?"_

"Eh.. No, sir. So sorry about that."

She was relieved that her Den Den Mushi didn't duplicate her reddened expression, and exhaled an inaudible sigh. It wasn't worth being drippy around commodore Smoker.

_"You're just there, anyway. Don't grumble."_

Tashigi squinted. Even with their ship's searchlights on, it was hard to see outside its range in the moonlit-darkness. Likewise, her officers were trying to spot the contact ship, leaning over the deck to scan the horizon.  
A shadow bobbed a distance away.

"The envoy is code-named Deepbelly, right?"

_"Yes. You've located the courier?"_

"Yeah, two ships. One being.. a galley, I think. Bearing north-east, captain!"  
She barked the last sentence to the captain, and rounded up the Marines.

_"Two? There's supposed to be just a brig. If the guests are pirates, just do your damnedest."_

The troops waited in formation for Tashigi's orders, and she as began to address them, everyone's attention was stolen by a cry of distress. They looked up to see the barrelman hopping frantically in the crow's nest, shouting and pointing in the direction of the two vessels.  
"Ensign! I saw the insignia on the galley's flag.. it's 'Beating Fist' Nellah's ship!"

No one reacted to the news- because none of them recognized the name. However, the overhearing Smoker behaved otherwise, crashing from his tilted seat many, many _many_ fathoms away.

_"GET THE HELL OUT, DUMBASSES_!"

As if answering his roar, three firing canon rent the silent atmosphere ablaze with sound and color. The shells hit the bow and portside with deadly accuracy, intending to render escape futile. Pitching wildly, the ship sent the Den Den Mushi flying from her hands.. and she thought that, if they didn't sink, they were definitely marooned.

"Mobilize weapons! Return fire!"

* * *

Smoker swore at the bust connection. Just when they needed his guidance..! The mission was a simply delivery of World Government documents, and no pirate- Much less 'Beating Fist' Nellah, should have cultivated much interest. How did things go to the dogs?  
"I'm going over to them," he announced to his office, picking up his jutte from his desk; but _Kuro-Ori no_ Hina blocked his path from leaving the room.  
"You can't handle it alone! Besides, vice-Admirals nearest to the site have already been dispatched!" 

"That's my lieutenant out there, Hina." He pushed her aside without waiting for a reply. Pouting, Hina followed him.

* * *

As the offending ship advanced, their mortar assaults proved ineffectual- they might as well used peashooters to pockmark the reinforced galley. When the the galley was close enough, the Marines could see eager faces onboard smugly hinting, _you won't be crying back to yer mommas, 'cause you can't even leave yer shit-boat_. No one harbored optimistic thoughts on going against the pirates. 

Tashigi was furious about her negligence. She channeled the anger through her Shigure into defeating the onslaught of pirates, dropping onto their boat like sharks to a kill. Their resistance was piteously frail- already three-quarters of her men were felled.  
_They want the goods.._

A fresh barrage of canon-fire punched into the ship, causing everyone to crash to the rocking deck. _If they're sinking the boat, that means they've got the documents?! _Rolling with the motion, Tashigi caught a glimpse of World Government folders being handled by a pirate. She abandoned fighting the buccaneers and took possession of the documents, hacking them aside with her sword.  
"Cover me!"  
The way to the wheelhouse was clear, but her sprint was interrupted when she was slammed down from a bullet to the back.

Gasping in pain, the folders slid across the floor to the feet of a lofty man, peculiarly androgynous in figure. His hands were red with blood, and clasped in his right fist was a throbbing heart. She then knew the reason behind 'Beating Fist' Nellah's nickname.  
"Thank you for bringing them on time, young lady."

_Outmanned, outgunned and out-of-time!!  
__My instinct-_

It told her that the documents mustn't be in his ownership.. not even over her dead body. Suddenly an officer intervened and fired at Nellah with a pistol, but he swiveled away in the air like a dancer in zero gravity and reached for his face. That distraction was an opportunity enough for her to scramble to the papers and produced a lighter she never planned to use.

"Trying to ruin my precious visage? Let me give back the favor." Nellah's fingers gripped the man's scalp and yanked the skin clean off the skull, dropping the screaming marine to his knees- what remained on his head was a bloody mass of flesh. Tashigi was frozen in horror of his violence and power.. her legs turned feeble and she couldn't summon the energy nor will to move-

"You.. are a Devil Fruit user!"

"Is it that noticeable? You're precise, and you're right. I ate the _Haku-Haku_ fruit, and I might tear you up like paper if you don't pass the documents here, _now_."

She smiled pathetically and lifted the folders with a shaking hand. In the light of a nearby lamp, Nellah could see it was soggy with..  
"_Liquor_? Oh-you-sonuva.." Watching as he leapt towards her, she dropped the glowing lighter to the documents and it went alight with a _whoosh_. Both of them jumped back from the rearing flames, which hungrily consumed the papers.

It was over.

The assignment, a failure.  
Blame.. that was owed to no one, but herself.  
A flinch was all she managed in trying to rectify her mistakes, for Nellah's hand was around her throat, his growl in her ear.

"You could've lived, bitch. But you're desparate to die?"

Then.. blackness.

* * *

**Some terms/words I used that you might not know..?**

**Barrelman**– A sailor that was stationed in the crow's nest.  
**Kuro-Ori no Hina** – Hina the Black Cage(her nickname)  
**Den Den Mushi** - The snail phones that the One Piece world uses  
**Shigure** - Tashigi's sword name  
**Haku **- Tear up (correct me if I'm wrong :3)

**..:: tofuGal sez.. ::..**

Ah.. I changed the structure of the story quite a bit- owing my rusty writing skills.  
I'm try to make my work engaging and fast-paced like in thriller novels.. I wonder what impression this chapter left you? )  
This fanfiction does not.. glorify any pairings. No. Its neutral. Expect action, drama.. and more action? 'Nuff said. tofuGal.. away!


	2. Deceiving You

**chapter 02. Deceiving You**

* * *

They stood before the salvaged ship for a long time. Few words were exchanged since their arrival, for Smoker feared erupting in someone's face. To walk the steam off, he had watched the sluggish raising the courier ship with Hina; bit-by-bit regaining control of his annoyance and composure.

He was displeased.  
There was no Tashigi in the names of the survivors found, and the vice-admirals had not bothered pursuing Nellah all the way- at least, not until further instruction. The hours were nearing dawn; a pink sheen was creeping into the sky.

"_Two of them were taken hostage, commodore, to prevent the vice-admirals from attacking them."  
_"_They didn't even follow!"  
_"_No sir, because Ensign Tashigi had already destroyed the documents, so I think they lost interest knowing that. Do you want to know the damage report?" The officer then realized he was speaking to Smoker's withdrawing back._

"Do I have to do everything myself?"  
"Hina thinks-"  
"That I shouldn't look for her? That it's a waste of time? I know Tashigi isn't a great fighter or a real asset to the Marines. But that kid has heart, and I'm not gonna be dangling around waiting for her to return- by then, my workload would have tripled and I can't do without sharing it."  
"Ah..! You just want her to do your jobs.."  
"Commodore, sir!"

The officer saluted at them before continuing.

"Vice-Admiral Garp had stopped all boats from leaving this site. He said you needed to wait for further orders from HQ."

No Tashigi, no Nellah, no liberty in taking initiatives?

Hina thought she could hear Smoker's wafer-thin-patience snapping from his words. He left their company and stormed to his ship, calling "raise anchor," to his squadron. He wouldn't take that crap, no- He was going to chase the yellow-assed pirate all the way. Stepping off the final gangplank to his boat, Smoker found himself crossing the path of an unexpected blow- _BWAM!_

Two cigars went airborne, and he was almost lifted off his feet; the crazy strength behind the punch could have floored anyone else. An astonished Hina hurried over to support him but her presence was ignored; Smoker stared contemptuously at Vice-admiral Monkey D. Garp.

"What the.."  
"Oi, punk. Don't you know how to greet your superior? Or follow orders, rather? Anyway, let's drop it. You young-guns are easily excited." The Vice-ad waved a sheaf of parchment at them. "Word just in from the heavies.. Priority goes into replacing and resending the World Government documents, and finding the two lost posties is under secondary agenda."

"I don't find their show of conviction.. Convincing."  
"Bah, don't put it that way. But I thought them Ensigns could have done a much better job than getting herself axe-kicked by the job."  
When he didn't reply, Garp shook his head.  
"I see you're still holding strong emotions, fella. Not healthy. Then.. I place you, 'Black Cage' Hina, in-charge of retrieving the two lost ducks." He handed the papers to her, who cocked a brow at them.  
"That's the official license. You can't go without them. As for you, Commodore, you leg it to.. Loguetown, right? Resume base duties. Dismissed."

* * *

The sun was high over their heads when Hina was making the final preparations for her departure. In the cabin of the return-ship, she packed her suitcase. "It's a dangerous trip for a delicate girl like you." She turned to find Smoker before her face. It was curious to see him without a cigar between his teeth, and their sudden intimacy in space made her feel all the more intrigued. 

"Hina knows that.. but she will look for them diligently, because Smoker-san misses his lieutenant."

Smoker wrapped his arms around her lithe body, kicking open the room's door behind him. "I'm soon gonna miss you too, Hina."

She prepared herself for a kiss and closed her eyes, but received only a squeeze of a hug before he slipped away. Clicking her tongue and scoffing 'stingy' under her breath, she finished stuffing the bag and went up. A change of vessel, a change of clothes, then maybe discovering the two Marines on a deserted island. As she surfaced onto the deck, her Lt. Fullbody looked quizzically at her luggage even though Jango had picked them up for her at once.

"Why is captain Hina taking out her luggage?"  
"Hina's taking that ship to search for.. GYAAHH.. where is it?"  
"Commodore Smoker sailed away on it a while ago." _He couldn't, not without the papers_.. She reached into her pockets and- _Damn_! He had stolen them in that embrace just now.

"That sly pig.." she hissed.

_Buruburuburu.._

Fullbody pulled out his Den Den Mushi.  
"Man Loguetown well, Hina, till I get back."  
"Enjoy your trip then," she said exasperatedly, "but what if Garp hears about it?"

_-click-_

Hina cast her eyes at the already-distant ship. "Safe journey, Smoker."

* * *

Tashigi didn't know what caused her sudden stirring- and she wished it didn't. It could be the ache in her back, the overpowering smell of piss in the air, the heat of the place: she could've awaken in hell and not known the difference.

Apparently, it was the determined prodding into her wound that made her take in breaths with a sharp wheeze. "Oh, you're awake now?" she twisted around to look but was held down fast on the floor by two men. "Stay still. I'm trying to remove the lead-shot from below the shoulder-blade."

"Don't touch me.."

A wooden spoon was thrust into her mouth; just in time before she bit down in agony of pain- the sailor squatting over her back was trying to dig the bullet out with a round-ended scalpel. Worse than the hurt was the scraping of blade against cartilage and bone. "It's a nice shot. Hit the bone and went down, meh. Won't be no exit wound on this one.."

Despite her misgivings, it rolled out sooner than anticipated, leaving a trail of fresh blood from the wound. It felt like an anchor was lifted off her spine. The man patched it uphastily and placed a platter on the floor, wiping his hands on his pantts.

"Prisoner gets a little extra today. So be glad." Chuckling, two of the three got up and left the cramped hold, bolting the door behind them.  
"Ensign.."  
A familiar face. She remembered his name- a Burne-something, seasoned second chief petty officer. He helped her sit up against the wall, pushed the plate of food into her hands.  
"You're unhurt?"  
"Yes."  
"That's good. I like my men to be lucky."

She was surprised in the faintness of her voice, the weakness in her body. The plate was hardly much in terms of weight, yet it was taxing to hold it up(and to prevent it from trembling in front of him).  
"Where are we? How did we get here?"  
"Er.. The pirates have taken us captive. We're onboard Nellah's ship, but I don't know for how long, exactly. They're not telling me what happened to the other Marines." The rations consisted of a hunk of soft bread and two pieces of dried fish. A simple yet generous meal- they could have given her nothing.

Logic swirled in a murky pool of thoughts. Even the officer's face was swimming- then she realized that her glasses were filthy. But it was in one piece, which was another lucky break. Inattentively tasting the fish, she offered the other to Burne who looked like he could do with a shedload of foodstuff.

---

The cargo-space was strangely soundproof, though occasionally they could make out the sounds of stamping feet and crashing of waves against the hull. It was lit by a single bulb above their heads and air seeped through a meshed vent next to it. Her back was aching at a tolerable level now, and the roll of the ship was becoming pleasant, instead of stomach-turning.  
"I heard that we're being fixed for 'Dead Man's Lair'."  
"What- or where is that?"  
"I don't know, Ensign."  
"Start thinking."

* * *

**Some terms/words I used that you might not know..?**

**Postie** – postman, mailman

**..:: tofuGal sez.. ::..**

**EDIT:** Well, I'm gonna be a notorious chapter-replacer. My ideas are always so raw and confusing.. damn! I hate replacing chapters because of edits. Oh well. I want my ideas to come out the way I want it to be(and this chpt still ain't perfect!ARGH!)  
Actually, the last part of this- about Tashigi and Burne-guy, wasn't supposed to be here at all..   
11.10.07

_Yays.. reviews. Thank you people! I weighed all advices. So now, this chapter(which came in faster than expected) has an infusion of character-behavior-depth, without lacking speed in terms of events that are happening. Er.. That's what I hope for, anyway. Unlike the first chapter, this isn't read through over twice.. there may be mistakes  
Other than that, things are picking up! Smoker defies orders to look for Tashigi- And ah! she wakes up in the hold of Nellah's ship? Where are things going? Chapter three will be.. so drama-mamma, if I can put it like that, haha:)  
And yes! Any reviews/comments/suggestions(subject to be used) are accepted and thanked for!_ tofuGal away!


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